A Kind of Don Juan
by AngelxPhoenix
Summary: When a woman has seen me, as you have, she belongs to me...she loves me forever...


**I started thinking about a particular line in Leroux's book and that set the gears turning. This is the result. It features Erik in more of his twisted, psychotic state, just so you know. And it's a one-shot, so what you see is what you get. Enjoy!  
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My heart raced as I inserted the old key into the lock and turned it. The click as the tumblers fell in line seemed to echo loudly in the empty street, and I looked around me to be sure no one was watching. The night's performance was over, and the Rue Scribe was deserted.

I took a deep breath and opened the gate beneath the Opera House. Stowing the key back in my pocket, I retraced the path down to the lake and kept my eyes open for any sign of a lantern ahead. He should be here soon...he'd never been late yet...

It had all started when a foolish dare got out of control. I'd been gathered in the dormitory with the other ballerinas, frightening each other with tales of the Opera Ghost. Jeanne, one of the older girls and a notorious bully, had scared little Marie so badly the poor thing wouldn't stop crying. I'd stepped in to comfort her.

"Leave her alone, Jeanne," I said, putting my arm around her. "It's all right, Marie. There's no such thing as the Opera Ghost. He doesn't exist."

"And you know this, Gabrielle?" Jeanne jeered.

"You're just trying to scare her."

Marie sniffed loudly and I hugged her tightly. "Don't cry," I entreated. "It's just a story."

"But how do you know?" she asked.

Marie was prone to nightmares and had often awoken everyone in the dormitory with her terrors, and I knew she'd probably never get to sleep that night if I didn't reassure her somehow. "Because I've been down there," I told her, "to the lake under the Opera. I didn't see any ghosts, so there's nothing to be frightened of."

Jeanne pounced when she heard this. "Prove it," she demanded. "Go back down there."

"Are you insane?" I asked. "It's in the middle of the night!"

"Well, if there aren't any ghosts, you don't have anything to be afraid of," she taunted.

"It's dark down there! It's too dangerous!"

"Take a light with you."

I looked around at the other girls. They were sitting at attention, riveted at the turn of the conversation. "In the morning," I protested half-heartedly. "It's too late tonight…"

Jeanne crossed her arms and gave me a saucy look. "I think you're lying."

"I am not!"

"You're either a liar or a coward, Gabrielle. Which is it?"

"Neither!"

Jeanne turned to the other girls. "I say we make her prove it right now," she said. "What do you think?"

They took up the cause, goading and needling until I had to go just to keep them quiet. They'd called me a coward for trying to back out, but proved their own cowardice in refusing to accompany me. Incensed and apprehensive, I'd wanted to show them up. And I came face-to-face with none other than the Phantom of the Opera.

I never even made it to the lake before I felt something stirring in the darkness behind me. My blood chilled and I turned against my will, nearly letting out a scream. The stories had been true; he was there, dressed in black and with a face marred by death, sporting lugubrious features reminiscent of a corpse and glaring at me with fierce yellow eyes.

He snatched me and pressed me back against him, covering my mouth to stifle my cry. "Trespassing, are we?" he demanded. "I've killed for less."

I twisted in his grasp and freed my lips. "Please don't kill me!" I begged. "Please! I'll do anything you ask! Just let me live!"

He gripped my shoulders and spun me around to face him. I recoiled in horror at the sight of him and tried to turn away, but he cupped my chin in his hand and made me look at him. "Anything?" he asked.

"Anything," I promised. "Please, just spare me!"

He stood ponderously, weighing my life with my vow and said, "Tell me your name."

I tremulously replied, "Gabrielle."

"Gabrielle…" he repeated. "I want you to call me Erik."

I'd nodded innocently, but my eyes widened with fear and shock as he continued to speak. I had seen his face, he told me, and he never let those who'd seen him live if he could help it. If I wanted his mercy now, I would have to make a choice. Offer up my body to him, share the night with him, or die.

I'd never been with a man before and it was a terrifying prospect, but death seemed so much worse. I gave in, and he took me deeper below the Opera House to his home.

I'll never forget that night for as long as I live. I was so scared and I couldn't control my tears. It turned out Erik was as inexperienced as I was, and with a face like his I could easily imagine why. He said no woman would let him touch her, looking as he did, but now that I had seen him, I was his forever. He ordered me to undress, and then he took me.

He set me free the next morning, taking me across the lake to the gate from the Rue Scribe. He gave me a key and said, "This fits the lock on that gate. I'll send for you when I want you again."

I'd stared at him, filled with despair. "Again?" I pleaded. "No, please, just—"

"You're mine, Gabrielle," he told me. "For as long as you live, you belong to me. If you want your freedom, you'll do as I say. If death is preferable to you, I'll be happy to oblige you."

My fingers closed over the key and my heart felt like an iron weight in my chest as I nodded.

When I returned to the ballet, all the girls wanted to know what happened. Why didn't I come back that night? Had I met the Phantom after all? I was too afraid to tell them the truth and concocted a story of getting lost in the dark and unable to find my way back to the Opera, and I did my best to put it from my mind, praying that Erik would forget me after all and that I'd never have to go back to him again.

I didn't hear of him for several weeks. Then one day, backstage after rehearsal, I passed a set piece and something grabbed my wrist and yanked me into the shadows. I once again felt a hand clapped to my mouth to keep me from screaming and saw two eyes glowing with a hellish fire, this time from behind a mask. He hissed in my ear, "Tonight, Gabrielle. I'll be waiting at the lake. Know this; if you don't come, I won't be merciful again."

I went. What choice did I have? It continued from there: He would contact me and I would answer his call, indulging him and his desires. He was my master, and I was too intimidated to challenge him. If I were truly honest with myself, it grew easier after a time and not because I'd accepted my lot. Erik was a monster and he terrified me with his threats and his face, but there was something else that made me keep my promise. His passions were violent and alarming, and somewhere in my soul I knew that I should refuse him no matter what. This was an abomination. I shouldn't give in to this blackmail…I shouldn't let him do what he did to me…I shouldn't anticipate his every summons…

I reached the lake. It was silent on the shore as I stood waiting...waiting...

There was a light across the water, drawing nearer. It approached and I could make out the boat and the figure inside it, outfitted in suit, cloak and mask. He landed, then helped me aboard without a word before rowing back to the house on the opposite bank.

He led me inside and said, "You came."

"Could I do anything else?" I asked.

"Not if you wanted to live," he told me, raising his long, thin hand to my cheek and caressing my skin. "I need you again tonight."

"I'd guessed as much."

His eyes flashed. "Do you tire of this, Gabrielle?" he asked me. "Maybe you'd prefer to terminate our agreement and accept the consequences?"

"Of course not, monsieur."

"I told you what to call me."

I swallowed hard and amended, "Of course not, Erik."

He smiled at me and removed his mask. I tried not to look away as he put those deathly features on display, still unused to the sight after all this time. He took my hand and placed my palm to his deformed cheek, saying, "You don't mind this anymore, do you?"

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak.

"And you don't mind this, either," he went on, leaning down and pressing those misshapen lips to mine. I suppressed a shiver, disgust merging with desire. It must be the devil's magic, for something I knew was a sin to feel so...necessary... I joined in the kiss, twining my tongue around his and leaning into his chest.

He didn't waste time. He rarely did. He tore my gown in his haste to get it off me and stripped me of my undergarments, baring my flesh to his touch. I moaned with longing as he took my breasts in his hands, circling the nipples with his fingers. I threw my head back and leaned deeper into him and he laid desperate, hungry kisses along my neck. I reached up to unbutton his shirt and he chuckled, drawing away the slightest bit to look me over, trembling and glassy-eyed. "You want to live, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes, Erik," I told him.

He moved a hand from my breast and slipped his fingers inside my body. I cried out, flooded with sensation and unable to hide how wet I became. "Or is it possibly me you want?" he inquired, manipulating my lust in deft, steady strokes until I couldn't stand upright, clinging to him for support. "Tell me."

"It's you," I gasped, scarcely able to breathe. "I want you." Under any other circumstances, I would have been ashamed to admit it. But when his every movement made my body come alive and scream for release, it was nothing but the truth.

His smile grew and he released me, letting me stagger on unsteady legs while he undressed, then he lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His erection pressed against me and we both shuddered to feel it. He backed me against the wall and I held onto him as tightly as I could, bracing myself for his violation.

We both let out cries of ecstasy as he thrust deep, joining our bodies in one swift motion. There had been so much pain the first time we'd done this, but now there was only the pleasure. He moved in and out, my whimpers and moans driving him faster and harder. I dug my fingernails into his shoulders, biting my lip against the rising wave. "You don't mind this," he repeated, his voice low and rough. "This is really why you come back to me. You like it."

"I do," I answered, the words coming out strangled and unclear. "Yes, Erik, I do!"

"I make you covet and desire," he went on. "You can't face the truth, but you live for this, don't you?"

I almost couldn't speak, but it was impossible to remain silent. "Yes! I do!"

He uttered a growl of satisfaction and gave one more thrust, sending me spiraling into euphoria. I felt an irresistible ripple up my spine, arching my back and pressing my hips into his. This was a sin…I wasn't supposed to submit to this…but I didn't care, affirming it to both of us as I screamed out his name. Moments later, he shouted mine and I felt his climax inside me, proof that I had won my life once again.

Spent and exhausted, he lowered us down to the floor and held me to him, not letting me out of his grasp and keeping us connected. "Good girl," he murmured in praise, "good, sweet little girl. You're mine, aren't you?"

I nodded.

"Say it," he commanded.

"I'm yours, Erik," I obeyed. "Yours."

"And you'll stay that way," he told me. "You belong to me forever."

I nodded again. Reason would return soon and I would balk at the concept, but still reeling with pleasure as I was, forever sounded desirable indeed.

**Well, whadja think? Love it? Hate it? Feel free to let me know!**


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